Help that is not recognized: Harmful neglect of decision support systems

Decision support systems (DSSs) aim to enhance the performance of decision makers, but to do so DSSs have to be adopted and used. Technology acceptance research shows that user evaluations (i.e., beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes) are key drivers of adoption and use. This article first presents evidence from the literature suggesting that the link between user evaluations of DSSs and actual performance may be weak, or sometimes even negative. The authors then present two empirical studies in which they found a serious disconnect between user evaluations and actual performance. If user evaluations do not accurately reflect performance, then this may lead to harmful neglect of performance-enhancing DSSs. The article concludes with a discussion of interventions that may alleviate this problem.

► We discuss a possible disconnect of user evaluations and actual performance of DSS.
► Two empirical studies with DSS that enhance creativity reveal a serious disconnect.
► This may lead to a situation of “harmful neglect” of performance-enhancing DSS.
► It may also partly explain why the use of DSS in practice remains below potential.
► We propose interventions to alleviate this problem.